December202011

French photographer Cédric Delsaux started out taking photos of what he calls "the peripheral zones" of modern cities - wastelands, empty deserts, scrapyards. Yet something was missing - and then he had the idea of placing characters from Star Wars into the images, giving C3PO and the Millennium Falcon modern settings that somehow seamlessly fit.

December172011

Christopher Hitchens, a slashing polemicist in the tradition of Thomas Paine and George Orwell who trained his sights on targets as various as Henry Kissinger, the British monarchy and Mother Teresa, wrote a best-seller attacking religious belief, and dismayed his former comrades on the left by enthusiastically supporting the American-led war in Iraq, died Thursday at the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He was 62.

December162011

Centurion is a 2010 British action thriller film directed by Neil Marshall, loosely based on the massacre of the Ninth Legion in Caledonia in the second century CE. The film stars Michael Fassbender, Olga Kurylenko and Dominic West. Enjoyed this movie. 4/5 stars!

Act of Valor is an upcoming 2012 American war film directed by Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh, and written by Kurt Johnstad. It stars Alex Veadov, Rosalyn Sanchez, Nestor Serrano, Emilio Rivera and actual active duty U.S. Navy SEALs.

With Ron Paul ascending in Iowa, winning the hearts of independents, and even the endorsement of Andrew Sullivan, it’s worth pointing something out: Ron Paul is not a kindly old libertarian who just wants everybody to be free. He’s a really creepy bigot.

December152011

The National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 has ignited a firestorm among civil libertarians because of provisions buried deep within the bill that would expand the military’s authority to indefinitely detain accused terrorists, including American citizens, while also effectively extending the War on Terror.

No one could have known that when a Tunisian fruit vendor set himself on fire in a public square, it would incite protests that would topple dictators and start a global wave of dissent. In 2011, protesters didn’t just voice their complaints; they changed the world.

The Stop Online Piracy Act or SOPA would imbue the federal government with broad powers to shut down whole web domains on the basis that it believes them to be associated with piracy -- without a trial or even a traditional hearing. It would provide Hollywood with powerful new legal tools to stifle transactions with websites whose existence worries the movie industry.

Dr. Peggy Drexler: It all leaves me wondering. How did the heart of a nation's leadership selection turn into a predictable reality show, where damaged players arrive in a limo, melt down and get voted off? How much more of this can Republican voters take?

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, who has been castigated by Democrats and hailed by Republicans for his plan to privatize Medicare, will on Thursday unveil a new approach that would preserve the 46-year-old federal health program.

Welcome to the world of cigars and cigar smoking. In this article, I will describe to you the entire process on how to smoke a cigar. To many people, cigar smoking is one of the most irreplaceable pleasures in life, and I'm glad that you've come to discover for yourself what this indulgence has to offer.

Canada will formally withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, the minister of the environment has said. Peter Kent said the protocol "does not represent a way forward for Canada" and the country would face crippling fines for failing to meet its targets.

Several countries have criticised Canada for formally withdrawing from the Kyoto Protocol on climate change. The move, which is legal and was expected, makes Canada the first nation to pull out of the global treaty.